Breast pumps are well known devices for extracting milk from a breast of a user. A breast pump may be used if the baby or infant is not itself able to express milk from the breast, or if the mother is separated from the baby or infant, for example, if away from the baby at work. The use of a breast pump to express milk may also be used to stimulate and increase milk production in women with a low milk supply.
Breast pumps make use of a vacuum to induce milk expression from a nursing mother's breast. The pumping action of the device draws the milk from the nipple to a collection vessel, and the pressure and/or frequency may generally be adjusted to the preferences of the mother.
A known breast pump for extracting milk from a user's breast is shown in FIG. 1. Such a breast pump 1 comprises a main body 2 and a collection vessel 3, such as a feeding bottle or bag. The collection vessel 3 is attached to the main body 2 by a screw fitting.
A breast-receiving funnel 4 extends from the main body 2 for receiving the breast of a user. The funnel 4 has an inner surface 5 and comprises a mouth 6 and a neck 7. The mouth 6 is open at an outer end and the inner surface 5 of the funnel 4 converges from the outer end towards the neck 7 to form a hollow recess in which a breast is received.
The neck 7 is a generally cylindrical tube which extends from the mouth 6 to the main body 2. When a breast of a user (not shown) is received in the mouth 6 of the funnel, the nipple of a user is received in a nipple receiving space 8 defined by the neck 7 of the funnel 4.
A fluid path is defined by the mouth 6 and neck 7 of the funnel 4, through the main body 2, to the collection vessel 3 so that milk induced from a user's breast flows along the neck of the funnel 4, through the main body 2 to the collection vessel 3.
A vacuum pump unit 9 is formed in the main body 2 and generally comprises a resilient diaphragm 10 which is deformable in a vacuum chamber formed in the main body 2 along the fluid path to create a vacuum in the vacuum chamber, and therefore along the fluid path, by means of a user manually operating a handle 11 which acts on the diaphragm 10, or by means of an electric motor (not shown). A one way valve 12 is disposed along the fluid path between the vacuum chamber and the collection vessel 3 to prevent a vacuum being created in the collection vessel 3, but to allow milk to flow along the fluid path into the collection vessel 3.
However, a problem with known breast pump arrangements is that they need to be used with the user sat in an upright position or with the user leaning forwards, as shown in FIG. 1, to maximize the volume of expressed milk that flows through to the collection vessel 3. Generally, if a user does not lean forward then the milk flows back towards the breast due to the inner surface 5 of the neck 7 of the funnel 4 forming an opposing incline, as shown in FIG. 2. This leads to milk pooling at the breast, leakage from the mouth 6 of the funnel 4 around the user's breast and ultimately loss of milk.
Expressed milk is considered to be very precious and is known to have a high emotional value to mothers that have expressed milk from their breasts. Therefore, this residual milk is considered to be a loss to a user, and this loss of milk may have an emotional impact on the user.
Furthermore, leaning forward for the full expression duration of 15 to 30 minutes is uncomfortable and prevents a user from relaxing. In order for milk to be produced in the milk glands to be released into the milk ducts a let-down' reflex has to occur. However, it is known that the time to ‘let down reflex’ will increase and milk production will be inefficient if the mother is uncomfortable and not relaxed.
A breast pump system is known from US 2006/0116632 A1 which attempts to deal with the above problems, and allow a user to recline whilst using a breast pump by use of an insert for the breast pump and a strap arrangement. However, a problem with the breast pump system in this document is that a breast pump in which the insert is disposed must be maintained in an upright position to prevent pooling, even when a user is in a reclined position. Therefore, the angle at which the user is able to lean back is limited before the breast pump abuts against the user's midriff.
A further disadvantage of the breast pump system recited in the above document is that the user's nipple extending into the insert of the breast pump system will contact and abut against the insert, which may cause abrasion or rubbing of the user's nipple and cause discomfort and/or soreness. Furthermore, two breast pumps must be used simultaneously in order for the breast pump system to operate successfully.